Pacifica Wednesday Weekly

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December 5, 2007

IMPORTANT CALENDAR DATES

If you have items to add to the calendar, please e-mail the date and time along with a description to calendar@pacificaschool.org

IMPORTANT WORKSHOP NEXT THURSDAY

A valuable opportunity is coming to Pacifica. Ruth Beaglehole is offering the next workshop in the Compassionate Parenting, Effective Families series on Thursday, Dec. 13th from 7-9pm. Please read the attached flyer for more details.

Be sure to save this date on your calendar. You'll be glad you did!

CAR SEAT BOOSTER NEEDED FOR SCHOOL

The Site Committee is seeking donations of newish CAR SEAT BOOSTERS for the school. We want to have two on hand for field trips (when a parent forgets to leave a car seat or for play-overs where an extra car seat is necessary). Thanks!

CHARTER EXTENSION UPDATE:

About a month ago, we sent LAUSD our formal request for a "material revision" to extend our current charter, Pacifica #2, to five years. As Mary Sue reported last week, our new charter coordinator visited for site and curriculum reviews and we passed 96 out of 100 categories. Next up is an LAUSD fiscal review in mid December, which we expect to pass equally well.

We are currently waiting for the LAUSD legal department to get back to us with the exact language for our charter extension revision. Then we will meet with the charter office and set a LAUSD Board date for our hearing.

Since, as previously noted, Pacifica #1 test scores went up 34 points from 2006 to 2007, blowing past our official target and the LAUSD average increase (both of which were around 7 points), LAUSD should readily grant our extension.

We will keep the community posted. If you ever have any questions regarding the charter process or Pacifica in general, please feel free to contact Janin at 310-560-5088/janin@pacificaschool.org or Beth at 310-621-2036/beth@pacificaschool.org

Thanks for your continued support!

K-1 CLASS MEETING TODAY

Please come to our K-1 Class meeting this Wednesday at 3:30 in our room. Please don't forget to check in with after care to inform them that you are on campus.

Let's get ready for the new year by coming to the meeting to find out what our teachers need from us to start 2008 with a BANG!!! We’re looking forward to seeing you!

‘TIS THE SEASON!

Dear Pacifica Families, 

It is the season of giving and this year we need you more than ever. This year has started off great:  we are building a strong, new relationship with the LAUSD Charter Division, we have made improvements to our campus and have made some organizational changes that have been working out great for our students. We really want to maintain this forward momentum and keep building a stronger and better school for our kids. One of the ways to enhance our school is with the hours of involvement that you have all so generously offered. Another is with financial support.

As a charter, we have many more financial burdens (rent is a big one) than do traditional public schools, but we also feel we offer a lot more than they are able to. This is why we have invited you to give as large a cash donation as you are comfortable with during our Annual Giving Drive. When you donate, please consider how much private school tuition is, as well as how much we offer your kids in terms of student/teacher ratio, field trips, and a nurturing, humanistic learning environment. We will also be providing you with extra invitations for you to offer to your extended family, friends and others in your social circle. Donations to our school are 100% tax deductible and so much more. They ensure that our school can continue to provide excellent education as well as be a force for social change. Together we can absolutely create the peaceable kingdom.  –Fundraising Committee

DO YOUR HOLIDAY SHOPPING & MAKE PACIFICA $$$

Speaking of the season, why not double your pleasure by buying all your gifts from vendors that give a kickback to Pacifica?! Buy ANYTHING from Amazon.com using one of the handy links to Amazon at the bottom of every page on our website www.pacificaschool.org, and Pacifica earns up to 10% of your purchase price. (Note: Pacifica ONLY makes $ when you get to Amazon via our website links.) You can also buy from Gaiam, Target, WalMart, Circuit City, Best Buy, or pretty much anywhere else, by shopping online via Good Shop – a percentage of your purchase price will be donated to the school. Just go to www.goodsearch.com and click the Good Shop link (make sure you list Pacifica Community Charter as your donee first!).  From there you can link to hundreds of stores, and all your holiday shopping can be done from the comfort of your computer. You save gas and hassle plus you help your school at the same time! We’ll have more tips in future Wednesday Weeklies.

A MESSAGE FROM THE PARENT PARTICIPATION COMMITTEE:

Please remember to log in your volunteer hours for the month!! The volunteer log sheets are due on 12/5. Be sure to include time spent at committee meetings, classroom meetings, time spent picking up trash on the playground at pick-up time, time spent coordinating carpool schedules, time spent baking a snack for the class, etc. Please remember that high rates of parent participation are viewed favorably by grantors, so it’s really important that we document how much we do for the school.

Thank you!

KNOW YOUR COUNCIL!

As part of our continuing series of introductions of members of Pacifica’s Organization Council, this week, meet one of your Staff Council Representatives: 

Patrick Garland

I was born in Omaha Nebraska. My mother was a teacher and my father was an investment banker. I grew up in the same house my parents were married in and they live there to this day. At 18 I moved to Los Angeles to study communications. I wasn't alone however: Los Angeles is home to nearly twenty of my relatives, including my younger brother. After graduating in 2002, I returned to school for teaching.

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